NOT many people make their Ibrox debut then walk off with the match programme as their most treasured souvenir of the occasion.

But when your name is Lorraine Clark and the list of match officials printed in that programme records you as the first woman to run the line at Rangers’ ground then you have a genuine collector’s item on your hands.

Referee Steven McLean’s first assistant, Gavin Harris, had never worked at Ibrox before in a professional capacity either.

But nobody had phoned Frank McAvennie to ask him what he thought about Harris’s appointment.

And for that there was one, simple explanation.

All match officials are presumed by Rangers supporters to be useless, biased interpreters of a rule book that has been designed to deliberately impede their progress.

And there are square-jawed, designer stubbled blokes who have been known to go weak at the knees while waiting to undergo their trial by punter analysis at Ibrox. So when one of the flag-waving assistant refs happens to be female it threatens to awaken every inclination towards male chauvinism that can afflict unreconstructed man.

And that’s why the biggest surprise for Clark during the game with Berwick on Saturday was how quiet 45,000 people in a football ground can be.

“I’d prepared myself for more noise,” she said. “But I found I was able to concentrate on doing my job properly and totally blank out my surroundings.

“I had stood in the tunnel before the game with both sets of players behind me and the rest of the referee team, saying to myself, ‘This is it. Switch on.’

“But as soon as the game started I found there was no need to be nervous because it was just like any other game I’d been involved in.

“The players shouted at me and I shouted back the way I had when I was in charge of the match between Hill of Beath and Bonnyrigg Rose juniors the week before.

“I was determined to enjoy the experience but I’d been more relaxed than I thought in the build-up. I’d slept well on Friday and left the house at 10 o’clock the following morning, still marvelling at the number of texts I’d received from people I’d lost touch with years ago.

“It wasn’t until the car taking me, Steven and Gavin left for Ibrox that the reality of what I was about to do hit me.

“The mobile was switched off and the focus was on football and nothing else.

“When the front door opened and I found myself inside the marble hall at Ibrox it was impressive but I didn’t want to talk to anyone other than the other match officials.

“Steven had been brilliant with me, calling me as soon as my appointment was announced last Tuesday and offering words of advice and encouragement.

“He even called an abrupt halt to the pre-match photo shoot and told the photographers that he, and I, were there to concentrate on our preparation.”

Clark’s father was at the game but her boyfriend elected to listen to the match on the radio.

Lorraine Clark with her FIFA 2013 badge (Image: SNS Group)

It was only when the course of the game took a sudden turn for the worse so far as Rangers were concerned that the lady in grey and black realised crowds undergo mood swings.

She said; “ When the score went from 3-0 to 3-2 the atmosphere inside the stadium changed.

“But I was happy with the performance of the referee team, even if I have to admit that my first reaction when the final whistle sounded was relief.

“There had been so much media attention paid to my appointment that I’d used up a lot of nervous energy.

“But as I approached the tunnel at full-time I could see Ally McCoist shaking hands with all the Berwick players and then waiting for the officials to say ‘well done’ to us as well.

“I have a box at home that contains my football souvenirs and that’s where the Ibrox match programme went when I got into the house at 1.30 on Sunday morning.

“I’d been to the SFA dinner in Lanarkshire at which I’d been presented with my FIFA badge which now entitles me to referee ladies games at Under-17 and Under-19 level.

“And when I finally got to bed for a really good night’s sleep I had to reflect on the fact that I’d just spent my dream day.”

Now it’s the aftermath of an extraordinary weekend that concerns her – but not on a personal level. She said: “My hope is that now I’ve achieved a milestone and worked at a game inside Ibrox it will encourage more girls to start attending the referee courses run by the SFA.

“I’m proud to have reached that level and know there are so many females who are currently working hard to do the same.

“But I have to tell you I was delighted to get a long lie on Sunday morning before going out for my recovery session and then a celebratory meal with my boyfriend, Eric,